


Us Against The Others

by theflyingzimmergaudi



Category: Nordic Combined RPF, Sports RPF
Genre: Fluff, Implied Sexual Content, M/M, Sappy, Teammates with Benefits, so so sappy, with the tiiiiiniest bit of angst, yes that's a trope now
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-01
Updated: 2020-05-17
Packaged: 2021-03-01 21:47:06
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 1,826
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23944150
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/theflyingzimmergaudi/pseuds/theflyingzimmergaudi
Summary: Maybe Ilkka couldn’t anchor them to victory. But that was okay, because for oncehe didn’t have to.
Relationships: Ilkka Herola/Eero Hirvonen
Comments: 2
Kudos: 9





	1. 2019

**Author's Note:**

> Title taken from [this](https://www.iltalehti.fi/talviurheilu/a/7eb2993f-43e5-4540-b688-6ce7bcad8aec) article. For those of you who don't understand Finnish (you're missing out because it's a great article), I'll (roughly) translate the relevant part: 
> 
> _"That another guy [Eero] can make it with the same "recipe" means we are doing the right things. It's not me against the others anymore, it's us against the others."_

_It was almost a perfect day_. 

Ilkka recalled his teammate’s words from a little over a year ago. They were justified; they had had a starting place better than ever before, and could easily keep up with the leading group. Everything had gone exactly as planned, and Ilkka was confident he could match his opponents in the last spurt. 

If only he had gotten there with them. 

Although it had been a blessing in disguise that Ilkka hadn’t messed up their position in the top three of the team sprint event, he had, needless to say, been gutted about his little fall, to put it nicely. And no matter how many times (and _ways_ ) Eero had reassured him it was totally, completely fine and _hey, first time on the podium together am I right?_ , Ilkka couldn’t help but feel like he had let Eero and everyone down. 

Yeah, it wasn’t always fun to be inside his own head. 

Today, though? Well, today had been _perfect_. 

Because this time, not only were they on the podium again; they were on the _highest_ podium. 

Just the two of them. 

Ilkka had been on cloud nine ever since he saw Eero crossing the finish line with a powerful, in-your-face kind of roar. For a few minutes Ilkka couldn’t believe this was his life, that he was a world cup winner. It had always been a mutual goal for them, that was for sure, but after the ski jumping round they hadn’t really been expecting it to happen _today_. And yet, here they were. 

He tried to take it all in; the crowd cheering, the staff and teammates celebrating with them, their fellow competitors congratulating them, all of them genuinely happy for their victory. Everyone they saw was smiling and it was because of what they had done. Hell, it felt as if the stars on the clear Lahti night sky were shining _just for them_. Not that Ilkka bothered peering at them that much; the twinkle in Eero’s eye did the trick just fine. 

*~*~*~*

Once the adrenaline Ilkka had gotten from the race had died down and been replaced by endorphins, he started feeling a little funny in the head. He was only half aware of the things he or Eero had said in interviews in any language, and he could recall about a third of the things that had been said to them. By the time they were being lead to the press conference, he had felt almost drunk. _Is this what winning feels like?_

He didn’t think he had stopped smiling since the race ended, nor did he think he could have, even though his cheeks were beginning to cramp a little. He couldn’t make himself act professional. He was just too happy to give a shit. 

It sure had been a while since he had seen Eero like this before too, and _god_ did it make Ilkka feel even more euphoric. He knew Eero wasn’t too fond of the attention of the public and speaking in interviews and that press conferences didn’t come naturally to him, and the present situation made Eero even more flustered. (It was the cutest thing Ilkka had ever seen - that is, if he could have made himself look at Eero for more than three seconds at a time). Lucky for Eero, he didn’t have to be there alone. 

It was more than lucky for Ilkka himself, too. He had been only half-joking when he, true to his black humour antics, had said that the reason Eero was the anchorman this time around was because of his mistake in the last curve of last year’s competition. He had been only half-joking when he said that he couldn’t do it, so Eero had to. 

Half-joking, because the other half of him knew it was true. And he felt blissful for being able to say so, because that was a luxury he hadn’t always had. 

For many years – long, agonizing years – Ilkka had been so alone with the weight of the world on his slim shoulders. Years spent trying to meet the expectations of the public that was used to success, of the sponsors and collaborators, of _his own_. Days spent at the training site, trying to match the shape of the athletes at the absolute top of their sport while the teammates around him could barely keep up with him on his Tuesday afternoon jog. Nights spent lying awake in his bed, worrying about all the things he had messed up, thinking he simply wasn’t good enough. 

Then, _oh, then_ , along came Eero. 

And suddenly it wasn’t only him everyone’s eyes were on, only his name on the paper listing the potential athletes bringing home gold and glory. Suddenly, there was someone skiing by his side, often even in front of him, at training camps and nationals. The weight on his shoulders felt a little less lighter each day that passed.

So yes, maybe he couldn’t anchor them to victory, at least not yet. But that was okay, because for once _he didn’t have to_. He had Eero. 

*~*~*~*

Back at their hotel room, after what felt like hours of talking and posing to cameras, recapping the events of the competition over and over again, Ilkka let out a long, exhausted sigh. 

Finally, it was truly just the two of them. 

Ilkka looked at Eero taking off his outerwear and smiled once again. His cheeks were gonna hurt the next day, but right now he didn’t care. 

“Hi,” he said softly, because that’s what he felt was the appropriate thing to say at that moment. After all, they hadn’t had a chance to properly talk since before the race. That had been hours ago, and so much had happened in between. 

Eero glanced at him and a shy smile formed on his lips. 

“Hi,” he echoed Ilkka’s words. 

Seeing Eero had stopped fiddling with his clothes, Ilkka walked slowly to him and wrapped his arms around Eero’s broad shoulders. Soon after, he felt Eero’s hands on his hips. He pressed his nose against Eero’s and closed his eyes. 

“We did it,” he whispered. 

“We did,” was the whispered response. 

With suave movements, their lips found one another, their bodies becoming one, and no more words were needed that night. 


	2. 2018

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ilkka is downhearted, but thankfully Eero knows just the way to cheer him up.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (Okay so maybe Ilkka had already learnt better coping mechanisms in 2018 so I don't know how well this fits in that timeline but humour me a little here okay, there's a reason it's called fan _fiction_.)

For a guy who had just been on the world cup podium with one of his best friends, Ilkka was sort of miserable. 

Yes, he knew that falling down on your ass at a crucial time during a race happens to everyone at some point in their career and that it doesn’t make you any worse than the next athlete. And yes, he knew that even without the fall, chances are he might have finished third anyway. Only now they would never know, and that bothered him infinitely. No matter how everyone kept patting him on his back and telling him he had done a great job nevertheless, Ilkka had to sort of grit his teeth through all the interviews to put on a smile and crack a few easy jokes to humour the journalists. The fact that he was the one doing most of the talking in the press conference  _ again _ didn’t exactly contribute to cheering him up. (Ilkka supposed the reporters just didn’t have the heart to force Eero to talk any more than was necessary, which he understood completely...but  _ still _ .) 

Now, hours later, laying in a bed in a dark hotel room, he also knew he should get some sleep, because tomorrow would be a new day with new chances to either succeed or fuck up, but every time he closed his eyes, he kept replaying that one last downhill in his mind, thinking about all the things he could have done differently to avoid the fall. It was driving him mad. 

“Mmmpppffhfhhfmm.” Ilkka heard a muffled little groan next to him and felt a nose nuzzling against his neck. It tickled and he couldn’t hold back a faint grin. 

“Not asleep yet?” Eero mumbled. Ilkka sighed. 

“I’ll go sleep in my own bed if I’m keeping you awake,” he said quietly. 

“No,” was Eero’s immediate, insistent reply, emphasized by a tightened grip around Ilkka’s torso. “Just tell me why you’re not sleeping.” 

Ilkka exhaled again, this time bringing a hand up to rub his eyes. 

“Just..thinking.” 

“Don’t.” 

“Ha!” Ilkka chuckled dryly. “That’s the dream.” 

Ilkka felt Eero move against him and he could barely see Eero’s outline in the dark as he propped himself up on his elbows to face Ilkka. 

“Look,” he began, “I’m just as gutted as you are, okay? But there’s nothing we can do about it anymore. It’s in the past and there’s no use chewing the cud. Just..let it go.” 

Even in the pitch black of the room, Ilkka could see the long, dark eyelashes surrounding Eero’s eyes as they stared back at him pleadingly. Or maybe the sight was just familiar enough for Ilkka to picture it even in the dark. Nonetheless, Ilkka never really stood a chance when Eero looked at him like that. 

“I  _ know _ ,” he groaned and massaged his forehead. “But I just...can’t stop thinking about it,” he admitted and, this time, didn’t risk another glance at Eero. 

The other boy was quiet for a while, obviously contemplating something, until he finally spoke again. 

“Maybe I should give you something else to think about, then.” 

Ilkka stopped in his tracks and just barely caught a glimpse of Eero’s twinkling eyes before he felt his lips on his own, a nose brushing against his, and Ilkka’s lips curved in a smile.  _ Okay, then _ . 

“What did you have in mind?” he inquired once Eero’s lips moved on to his right cheek and started making their gentle way towards his ear. Ilkka stretched his neck generously, giving Eero more space to do so. 

“You’ll see,” Eero whispered in his ear and Ilkka’s laugh echoed in the plain hotel room.

“I like the sound of that.” 

Eero’s lips travelled down his neck and across his collarbone, leaving small, sweet kisses all along the way. The kisses that had started as quick pecks turned more mouthy and intense somewhere around his chest, accompanied by Eero’s warm hands palming Ilkka’s bare pecs. Ilkka couldn’t help his inhales getting more frequent. 

Moving south, the next victim of Eero’s lips was Ilkka’s belly button, at which Ilkka gave another louder-than-necessary giggle, although he was enjoying himself too much to care. 

From his navel, the lips continued their slow journey even lower.

And lower.

And lower. 

Eero was true to his words; there was not a single thought left in Ilkka’s head by the time they were finished, and before any of them had the chance to make their regretful return, Ilkka was already on the verge of falling asleep. The last thing he remember's before dozing off was a soft whisper in his ear: 

"Next year."

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading and *mwah* if you leave kudos or a comment! 
> 
> tumblr: @[theflyingfeeling](https://theflyingfeeling.tumblr.com/)


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